The American Menu

Savannah, Georgia  1896-1907  The message inscribed on the back of this postcard from the De Soto Hotel in Savannah, Georgia closes with the...

Paris, ca. 1928 Willis Morgan was among the several hundred thousand African-American soldiers sent to France during the First World W...

Atlanta, Georgia 1888  Thomas Frazier was the headwaiter at many fine hotels and resorts in the late nineteenth century. Born in Charl...

St. Paul, Minnesota  1888   In January of 1888, a group of gentlemen held a dinner at a private club in St. Paul, Minnesota to mark the...

New York City,  1901  Booker T. Washington signed the cover of this menu from a dinner held in his honor at the Aldine Association, a N...

Boston,  1892  Any document relating to an early African-American union is a rarity, such as this menu from a ball held by the Tremont...

Topeka, Kansas 1883  Ephemera often contains unwitting historical evidence. A case in point is provided by a small menu from the Copelan...

Mississippi River,  1857  This Currier & Ives print titled “Wooding up on the Mississippi” depicts the steamboat Princess taking on...